British Colonies
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: N/A
Pages: Tanning and foxing
Markings: Previous owner
Condition remarks: Vol I: British North America; Volume II: Australia; Volume III: New Zealand, Tasmania; Volume IV: Africa and the West Indies; Volume V: British India; Volume VI: Ceylon, East India and Mediterranean Settlements; Volume VII: The British possessions in the West Indies, and in Southern and Central America. Condition: minimal wear to boards, dry quarter leather with marbled boards; all maps intact, binding remains tight;
A monumental work of Victorian-era imperial scholarship, British Colonies stands as one of the most comprehensive surveys of the British Empire ever committed to print, chronicling the history, geography, commerce, and governance of Britain's vast overseas territories across seven authoritative volumes. Robert Montgomery Martin, a prolific statistician and historian who served as Treasurer of Hong Kong, presents an encyclopaedic account that spans continents — from the Caribbean and West Africa to the Indian subcontinent, Australasia, and beyond — detailing the political administration, natural resources, trade statistics, and indigenous populations of each colony with the meticulous precision of a dedicated civil servant and man of letters. Martin's magisterial prose argues implicitly for the coherence and grandeur of the British imperial project, weaving economic data and historical narrative into a tapestry that reflects the confident, expansionist spirit of mid-nineteenth-century Britain. The sheer scope of the work — a testament to the age of empire at its zenith — makes it an indispensable primary source for historians of colonialism, economics, and global trade, offering a window into how the Victorian establishment understood and justified its worldwide dominion. What truths, contradictions, and forgotten voices lie buried within these leather-bound volumes, waiting to be unearthed by the discerning modern reader?
Author: Robert Montgomery Martin
Format: Hardback
Published: 1850, London Printing and Publishing Company
Genre: British & Irish history
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: N/A
Pages: Tanning and foxing
Markings: Previous owner
Condition remarks: Vol I: British North America; Volume II: Australia; Volume III: New Zealand, Tasmania; Volume IV: Africa and the West Indies; Volume V: British India; Volume VI: Ceylon, East India and Mediterranean Settlements; Volume VII: The British possessions in the West Indies, and in Southern and Central America. Condition: minimal wear to boards, dry quarter leather with marbled boards; all maps intact, binding remains tight;
A monumental work of Victorian-era imperial scholarship, British Colonies stands as one of the most comprehensive surveys of the British Empire ever committed to print, chronicling the history, geography, commerce, and governance of Britain's vast overseas territories across seven authoritative volumes. Robert Montgomery Martin, a prolific statistician and historian who served as Treasurer of Hong Kong, presents an encyclopaedic account that spans continents — from the Caribbean and West Africa to the Indian subcontinent, Australasia, and beyond — detailing the political administration, natural resources, trade statistics, and indigenous populations of each colony with the meticulous precision of a dedicated civil servant and man of letters. Martin's magisterial prose argues implicitly for the coherence and grandeur of the British imperial project, weaving economic data and historical narrative into a tapestry that reflects the confident, expansionist spirit of mid-nineteenth-century Britain. The sheer scope of the work — a testament to the age of empire at its zenith — makes it an indispensable primary source for historians of colonialism, economics, and global trade, offering a window into how the Victorian establishment understood and justified its worldwide dominion. What truths, contradictions, and forgotten voices lie buried within these leather-bound volumes, waiting to be unearthed by the discerning modern reader?